The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) and SplashLink.com, an online one-stop resource for the water industry, announced a partnership that will give NGWA members easier access to industry bids and projects, as well as funding opportunities throughout North America. “SplashLink.com provides a resource that is unique in the water industry,” said NGWA Membership Director Trisha Freeman, “We are always looking for ways to simplify our Member’s lives and SplashLink.com is the only service to put projects and funding in one easy-to-use Internet resource.”
The website is built exclusively for the water industry and not only provides access to millions in funding as well as thousands of projects, but also has search tools that make it easy to find just the kind of opportunities that are of most interest to each subscribing Member. NGWA is the pre-eminent organization for groundwater issues. It serves over 11,000 members, has 42 state affiliates and has developed relationships with dozens of domestic and international partners relevant to groundwater issues.
A new era of data collection
“America has launched a new era of increased coordination and collection of groundwater data to better inform decision-making by water resource managers,” said NGWA. Beginning in November, the US Geological Survey (USGS) invited applications for up to $2 million (USD) in cost-share grants, or cooperative agreements, to support participation in the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN) in 2016. The money allows USGS to provide funds to upgrade non-federal monitoring networks to national standards and to incorporate wells into the network. The USGS is working with the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information’s Subcommittee on Ground Water to develop and administer the NGWMN. (The NGWMN was established with strong support from NGWA and other organizations.)
The funding also will support additional work by USGS to manage the network and provide data access to the public through an Internet web portal. The network will rely on states to collect and report monitoring data. This data will be used to generate a more comprehensive picture of groundwater on a national scale. With increased pressure on water resources, particularly in the West, the implementation of the NGWMN will help inform good management of groundwater supplies across the country. This is important to the continued use of water wells as a source of safe drinking water for millions of Americans who rely on both public water systems and privately owned household wells.